04/16/2015

Schwarz suggests that visioning is useful because it can provide guidance to help organizations and communities realize their potential without telling them exactly what to do – avoiding the kind of overly prescriptive advice that stiffles creativity and initative. This evokes some of the discussion that we have had about communities as complex systems that designers can make more resilient and adaptive, rather than trying to optimize them according to a strict set of pre-determined design objectives. This kind of flexibility and whole-system awareness is also present in the “future search” reading, which advises us to “bring the whole system into the room” and enable systems to change in often unpredictable ways.

For your blog post this week, go to either of these two webpages and chose an Orton Foundation “Heart and Soul” visioning project – make sure you choose one that no one else in your blog group has already done (first come, first served!):

Making reference to specific aspects of the community you choose, describe how this particular project reflects at least three of the background values of the Heart and Soul process, and describe how this community’s project goals reflects an appreciation for communities as complex, emergent, self-willed, potentially resilient systems, making specific reference to at least two ideas from Schwarz and two ideas from Holman.

04/09/2015

Clark and Teachout suggest that some problems call for activism and advocacy and not collaboration and deliberation. Select a problem facing one of the communities that you are involved in that you believe calls for activism. This problem could be anything that impacts your community: an environmental problem, a social injustice, a form of discrimination, a bad policy, a lost opportunity, or more. Briefly describe the problem and why you think that it calls for activism not deliberation.

Then identify an issue related to that problem (p. 351, Homan Ch. 12) (make sure that your issue is not the same as your problem!). Answer these questions:

- What type of issue is it? (use Homan's terms, from discussion that begins on p. 352)

- In what way is it a good issue to address the problem you described (use Homan's criteria)?

- How will the issue lead to action (see possible ways on p. 356)

- Define how individuals operating within at least three distinct levels of participation (Homan Ch.9, p. 235, also "talents and assets" p. 239) could help you address your issue.

Finally, using Homan and VeneKlasen’s ideas about power, describe what kind of power stands in the way of addressing your problem, and what kind of powerful forces, allies, or settings you could mobilize to begin to solve your problem.

04/03/2015

Plastrik and colleagues describe networks are operating at the “edge of chaos”. They describe a network as something that shifts shape over time, evolving from a cluster and moving toward a core-periphery structure as it enables its members to connect, align, and produce. To manage this process, networks should be monitored for their connectivity, health, and impact by netweavers who are described as servant leaders who should “trust the network”, “serve but don’t wait”, and “embrace vertigo.” For this week’s blog post discuss a design process that you’ve been involved in or have studied, and describe how at least one core concept or guideline from chapters 4,5,6, and 8 (so 4 total) could inform the design process. Think back to earlier this term to our discussion of “design thinking” as practiced at the Stanford “d school”: I’m interested in your ideas of how a network orientation could improve the inclusive community design process.

03/26/2015

As Connecting the Change the World documents, networks can help achieve a variety of important societal goals, including economic development, industrial innovation, civic health, and biodiversity protection. The network approach can be applied not just to weighty issues like these, but also to a broad array of problems, and may be intentionally organized or spontaneous. For instance, a study group, a Facebook group, or a sports club could have some of the attributes of a community of generative social impact network. Look over the ideas in all three chapters describe a network that you have been involved in at some time during your life (I assure you, if you think flexibly enough, you'll be able to think of an instance). Describe how your involvement in this network provided you a “value proposition” that you wouldn't have been able to achieve on your own. Then consider each of the design categories in chapter 2:

Purpose

Membership

Value Propositions

Coordination/communication

Resources

Governance

Assessment

Consider how would a more intentional approach to at least three of these categories could have improved the network that you described. Finally, describe two network weaving practices from the book that could have improved your network, and describe how.

03/12/2015

Drawing from the Fishkin and Black readings, choose an online tool for civic engagment or an approach for virtual public consultation and describe how it might be useful to enhance one of the techniques/approaches for enhancing community design that we have examined this term, including:

Negotiation and Facilitation

Multistakeholder Consensus Processes

Design Charettes

Communities of Practice and Learning Networks

Deliberation

Be as specific as possible, referencing the relevant readings and lecture material. Also, try to incorporate some of the ideas about democracy and complexity that we have considered this term, including those in the Thackara and Clark readings.

Do not choose a technique or approach that one of your blogmates has already chosen.

03/05/2015

a) Select one deliberative technique or process from the reading that you would like to see used in a community that you are a part of (think broadly about what “community” could mean). Provide the page number where the process is discussed and provide a very brief description of the process. Then explain what about this technique appeals to you. What issues could it help address in your community? Why do you think this technique would be effective?

b) Intermixed within Clark and Teachout's account of deliberation within slow democracy, they acknowledge several major problems that can derail deliberation. Indeed, they argue that "simply convening people wih opposing viewpoints in the same room to talk can do far more harm than good" (p. 146). From the text, select what you think is the biggest challenge to using deliberation to promote inclusive community design. For each, note the page number where the challenge is discussed. Then describe in your own words why this challenge poses important problems for deliberation. What weaknesses does it reveal about deliberation?

02/26/2015

In the first Sanoff reading (part 1, which says "visioning" on the first page), the author lays out a variety of characteristics of charettes. Much of the remainder of the reading, as well as the next reading, chapter 5 of Sanoff (part 2), are examples of charettes in a variety of communities.

I'd like you to get familiar with the charette idea, since we are going to spend all of next class doing a charette, with you representing specific community roles. What I'd like you to do is choose one of the examples of charettes in either reading (such as the Richmond neighborhood charette), identify what "category" of charette it falls into (p.51), identify what "strategies" were used in that example (p.50), and note the specific essential "ingredients" (p.50) that were added into the charette. Please do not choose an example that has already been chosen by another member of your blog group - check before you get started. If they are all used, you can do a duplicate (there shouldn't be any triplicates).

PART 2

I'd like you to prepare to play your role in the design charette (which was handed out in class - if you lose it or were not in class please email Bruce immediately (brugo@colorado.edu). Please research your role on-line. In the blog, provide links to at least 2 websites where you have gathered information about your role (on the handouts we gave you, there are some suggestions in italics). Provide a short summary of what your character wants to achieve by participating in the charette. Post it on the blog - you don't have to hand it in during class - although I recommend you print it out and bring it to class, to remind yourself of your motivation and perspective.

Length guidelines are suspended for this assignment, although you aren't required to go over the recommended 300-500 word length.

Be sure to be on time next class - we're going to jump right into the charette.

02/18/2015

After completing the three readings, reflect on an experience that you've had with any sort of public process or multi-stakeholder process. You may have to think creatively here, since you may not have been involved in a formal process - this could be something that happened at work or on a team, or even something your parents were involved in, perhaps involving their community or school, or some big decision at their place of worship or in another association. Drawing on at least one idea from each reading (so a minimum of 3, and note the source and page number in parentheses), describe what you noticed, what impressions you got, and what you learned. Did anything stand out as particularly memorable, interesting, confusing, or unusual? What was the interaction like? What was the outcome - do you know how decisions were made? Based on what you've learned so far from the class, how might you assess the appropriateness of the design and implementation of this process?

02/12/2015

This week we focus on how to foster dialogue in groups, both in ordinary circumstances and during polarized conflicts. Creating the conditions for good conversation is hard enough by itself - when groups have a history of distrust (or worse), it can be very difficult for a facilitator to create productive conditions for dialogue. Conflict resolution doesn't always come naturally or easily; in fact, some conflict resolution practices may initially seem puzzling or unexpected. As you read the two chapters from Forrester (3 & 5) and the chapter from Clark (8), identify 3 practices of the facilitator/mediator/community designer that you, initially, found surprising or counter intuitive. For each practice, (1) describe what they did, citing the page number and reading in parentheses. (2) Then reflect on why this practice initially seemed counterintuitive or odd to you. Why did you think that this was an unusual or surprising move? (3) Why you think that this practice was used? What did it accomplish? How did it contribute to creating the desired interaction for conflict management? Finally, drawing on specific insights from the Kaner reading (cite them), identify a few things that you think a facilitator can bring to a group discussion that a group couldn’t accomplish on their own.

02/05/2015

Playing off the slow food movement, Clark and Teachout present “slow democracy” (a set of principles to build healthy, democratic communities) as an alternative to “junk democracy.” Clark and Teachout discuss a variety of different ways to communicate (e.g., listening, storytelling, etc.) and processes (e.g., interactive community forums, community meetings, etc.) that can create more sustainable communities. Select three ways of communicating or processes that you think hold the most promise for designing sustainable communities. Cite where the practice/process was discussed in the book, and discuss both how each practice/process can contribute to community design and the challenges or barriers to achieving these goals.